What Once Was Mine
by The Lark
Summary: Co-author Slobberyblobber: After capturing Belle, Regina gives her a new identity. An identity named Rapunzel.
1. Prologue

_A/N: We made Belle a few years younger in this story than she is in the show, for reasons that will be obvious when you read it._

Prologue

"Take her to the tower," the Evil Queen commanded dispassionately. She waved a single guard forward; the girl was a tiny little thing, and the only armament she had was a single thick book. Capturing her certainly wasn't going to be much of a challenge, even for one man.

"What? No! What are you doing?" the little beauty cried, her voice tinged with such desperation she was practically sobbing. "I can save him, j-just let me go to him…I can break his curse!"

This was getting tiresome. "You already tried and failed. That monster's beyond saving." Regina had known Rumplestiltskin for a long time; far longer than this little bimbo. In all those years, the only emotions she'd ever known him to show were disgust, sick glee, and the occasional bout of rage. And even those were probably just an act to intimidate people most of the time. Basing this entire plot around the premise that the old reptile was capable not only of love, but of True Love, had been a long shot, but it had seemed too good of an opportunity not to at least give it a try.

The guard shoved the girl into the cage they'd brought along and barred the door behind her. Belle shot a death glare at her through the bars. Regina just smiled bemusedly. "I'm sparing you a lifetime of pain and misery. Someday you might even thank me." This girl was young, clearly naïve, and based on the comments she'd made as they'd walked together on the road, the debacle with the Dark One was her first real experience with love. She didn't realize what she'd gotten herself into; not truly. For a brief moment, some long-hidden part of Regina almost pitied her. It was an unpleasant feeling, so she cantered her horse around and tried to focus on the road.

"You can't keep us apart forever!" the girl persisted, determined not to be shut out. There was a heavy clank as she threw herself against the bars. "I'll fight for him!" she ranted. "I'll _never_ stop fighting for him!"

Memories tugged at the corners of the Evil Queen's mind. A smiling youth with brown eyes and windswept hair, a tarnished piece of tack on her ring finger, a cold, stiff body on a dirty stable floor, and a revenge that would endure as long as the memories did. She reined in her mount, turning to give her captive an inscrutable look. "No, I don't suppose you will, will you?" She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, we'll have to see what can be done about that, won't we?"

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_You promised me a story," Belle reminded her master—or perhaps she should say her former master—playfully, perching on the edge of his spinning wheel._

_He blinked owlishly, clearly as lost in all of this as she'd been before the woman on the road had finally helped her put a name to what she felt for him. "Did I?"_

_"__Mm hm." She plucked the thread he'd been working with from his fingers and set it aside. "Tell me about your son."_

_He ducked his head and averted his eyes, looking smaller and more vulnerable than she'd ever seen anyone, much less the Dark One, look. It was adorable. She repressed the urge to tell him so. He'd never forgive her. "I…lost him. There's nothing more to tell really," he said sheepishly._

_"__And since then, you've loved no one, and no one has loved you?" Gods, how long had he been alone in this huge, dark, desolate house with only those hideous puppets for company? How close had she come to leaving him that way all over again? Her heart tightened. She'd made the right choice by coming back. _

_He leaned in close to her, staring intently, but very pointedly not touching, as though he was afraid he might scare her off if he made any sudden moves. "Why did you come back?" he whispered incredulously._

_"__I—" She hesitated. This was the moment of truth. What she said next could change the course of both of their lives. "I wasn't going to, but…" Her own words ran through her mind, giving her strength. _Do the brave thing and bravery will follow. _She smiled helplessly. "I love you."_

_"__Yes." A breath that she hadn't realized he was holding escaped him in a rush, half a sigh, half a laugh. "Yes, and I love you, too," he said with a smile of his own, displaying his stained teeth unselfconsciously. He brought a clawed hand up to cradle her cheek, stroking her cheekbone gently with his thumb._

_Belle leaned in to claim her long-awaited kiss and Rumplestiltskin, matching her eagerness, met her halfway. They were both grinning so widely that the kiss was more teeth than lips, but their hearts were in it and that was all that mattered. Almost of their own accord, her hands found their way to his shoulders and her eyelids slipped blissfully shut. As the kiss went on, a warm white light washed over the lovers and a gentle breeze ruffled their hair._

_She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a man who was both familiar and utterly unfamiliar. His face had lost its rough, shimmery texture, but the crooked nose and sharp cheekbones were right where they belonged. He ran his hands over his face, feeling the changes for himself. They were as long and spindly as ever, but the black claws had given way to an unremarkable set of pink fingernails. His eyes, now a warm shade of brown rather than that strange, otherworldly yellow-black, searched hers, clearly perplexed. "Belle? I…don't understand. What's happened to me?"_

_Tears welled up in her eyes. It was too much. Knowing that he returned her love, and watching the power of that love undo some of the most powerful magic of all time... "True Love's Kiss will break any curse."_

_"__True Love's Kiss," he repeated dumbly, staring in awe from her smiling face to his smooth pink hands. "I-I still don't understand entirely, Belle." His own smile returned, with just a hint of his old wickedness in it. "But you can explain everything in detail later. Right now, I think we have more important things to do. Don't you agree?" He scooped her into his arms like a bride and spirited her up the stairs as she giggled her assent._

* * *

><p>Just as their lips made contact, Belle started awake with a gasp, her face streaked with cold tears. She was covered in gooseflesh. Her only blanket had somehow become wadded into a bundle during the night, and she was clutching it in her arms like a lover. Sighing, she straightened it out and wrapped herself up. Maybe if she could get warm enough, she could get back to sleep and pick up her dream where it had left off. She curled up on the narrow bed, tucking her pillow under her head.<p>

The bed itself wasn't uncomfortable. Actually, compared to the dungeon where Rumplestiltskin had kept her when she'd first gone to live with him, the tower cell where Regina had stowed her away upon their arrival last night was downright luxurious. It must be where she kept her highborn prisoners. Magical flames, unfed by any kind of fuel, burned in brackets along the wall, providing her with warmth and light. For sleeping, she had an actual bed with a wooden frame and a clean mattress, rather than a heap of dirty straw. And a single lacy satin pillow, of course. Unsure whether she should laugh or cry at the memory, she finally settled on a weary sigh.

There was even a window to let in in the pale morning sunlight. There were no bars on it, just ordinary wooden shutters. One look outside had explained why. It was so high off the ground that any attempt to jump or climb to freedom would have meant certain death. Though she'd only seen it from the inside, it had to be the highest structure she'd ever seen, higher than even the tallest battlements of her father's mountaintop castle. She could look down on the roof of the Queen's palace, across the courtyard, and the gatehouse and barracks looked like children's toys.

The window was the only opening the cell had. There was no door. The Queen had teleported her here with an indolent snap of her fingers and a haze of purple smoke. How were they planning to interrogate her, or exchange her, or sacrifice her to their god, or whatever the hell they had brought her here for? How were they planning feed her? _Were _they planning to feed her? The Queen had gone to an awful lot of trouble simply to leave her for dead.

The journey here had been an unpleasant one. She'd been bounced around her empty cage like butter in a churn, and had more than a few aches and bruises to show from the experience. The only human companionship she'd had had been the occasional leer or lewd comment from her guards. Thankfully they hadn't dared to go any farther than that, fearful of damaging the Queen's merchandise, no doubt. She'd contemplated running the few times they'd let her out to wash or relieve herself, but so far from home, with no idea which direction she should even be running in, she had a feeling she wouldn't be getting very far. They had kept her gagged, so she hadn't been able to call on Rumplestiltskin. Would he have answered, given the mood he'd been in when she'd left him? Maybe she was better off not knowing.

After what seemed like months, but was probably a few weeks, they had finally arrived at a landmark she'd recognized. The Dark Palace. Belle's heart had sunk in her chest. Until then, she'd been able to hope that they were destined for the Dark Castle. That the queen's plan had been to ransom her back to Rumplestiltskin in exchange for some spell or trinket. But the moment she saw the unmistakable shape of the palace, looming ahead of them like a stack of enormous blades, she'd known she was in this for the long haul.

She kicked off her blankets, exasperated. Returning to her dream didn't seem to be happening, and in any case, certainly wasn't going to help. She needed to find a way out of here. Now that she was rested and had the daylight on her side, maybe she'd be able to see something she had missed last night.

The floor looked to be made out of a single enormous slab of solid white stone, with no bricks or tiles. If there was a trapdoor concealed under it somewhere, it had been hidden well. The floor was dominated by an enormous inked rune bigger than she was. Belle frowned, studying the marking thoughtfully. At the Dark Castle, back before she'd found herself in possession of a library, she'd read through a few of the dry old spellbooks her master had left lying around, for lack of anything more interesting. One of them had been a primer on arcane symbols. Three quarters of it had been completely unintelligible, but the symbol before her was one of the few that she had been able to figure out. A rune of warding.

"You've found my surprise!" The Queen's voice rang out behind her, full of false cheer. Belle turned to find the woman perched on the end of her bed. She was, as always, impeccably dressed in a heavy black velvet gown with lace trim, her hair piled on her head without a single strand out of place. However, if Belle looked closely, she could see that the woman's eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and her face looked drawn, as if she hadn't had any sleep. What had she been doing last night that was more important? Whatever it was, judging by the smirk on her face, it didn't bode well for Belle. "Then I suppose it won't be necessary for me to tell you that no one will be coming to your rescue, and that your only hope is to cooperate with me?"

Belle held her gaze stubbornly. She was so tired of being pushed around by people who were bigger and stronger than her. An overbearing father, an unsolicited fiancé, horde of ogres, a paranoid fool. A pair of idiots who tried to throw her down a well! If this woman thought Belle was going to fall apart simply because she bullied her, she was in for a rude awakening. "Do you really think a few scribbles are going to stop him?" she asked softly.

The Queen's smirk faltered a bit, but didn't fade. "Well, I don't see him here. Either they're doing their job or he simply decided you weren't worth the trouble."

Belle wasn't going to fall for that, either. She'd seen the power of their love work magic against Rumplestiltskin's curse, and unlike certain cowards who would remain nameless, she couldn't ignore something she'd witnessed with her own two eyes. Even that stupid rampage he'd gone on after he'd convinced himself she'd betrayed him was proof against Regina's words. Whatever the man felt for her, it definitely wasn't apathy. "He'll come for me. He loves me, and even if he didn't, he'd do it just to spite you."

That drove the last traces of humor from the Queen's face. "I came up here to see if I could reason with you, but clearly that's a lost cause. Poor dear. He really does have you brainwashed, doesn't he?" She snorted. "Well, since it looks like you're going to be here a while, I suppose I should see about getting you something to eat. You're no good to me dead." She waved a hand, summoning a tray bearing a simple meal of tea and porridge to Belle's bedside.

Belle eyed the tray skeptically. Her instincts rebelled at the thought of ingesting anything this awful woman put before her. Her brain scolded them. She _was _hungry and thirsty, and if the Queen wanted her dead, she didn't have to be subtle about it. She took a seat near the head of the bed, as far from the Queen as she could get, keeping the tray between them as if it were a barrier. "Then what _am_ I good to you for?" Belle knew she couldn't trust a word out of the woman's mouth, but if she could get her talking, maybe the Queen would let some useful clue slip. "Why did you bring me here?" She reached for her teacup. Trying to give the impression that she was listening less intently than she was, she lifted it to her lips for a casual sip.

And then her world went black.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

The tranquilizer hit first, the girl keeling over like a corpse, her brow furrowed with confusion. Then the memory potion kicked in, her face took on a serene look, and she drifted into a peaceful sleep. Regina allowed herself a little nod of satisfaction before getting down to work.

The queen surveyed her surroundings calculatingly. The place would need a little work to make this believable, but not much. A wardrobe here, a cedar chest there. A little paint to cover the tally marks some unlucky soul had scratched on the walls. A set of drapes, a bookshelf or two. A rug to cover that ugly mess she'd scratched on the floor. And of course, the girl's traveling clothes would have to be replaced. With a flick of her hand, she swapped the leather britches and heavy jerkin for a soft, ankle-length dress in solid blue. No shoes. She wouldn't be needing them in here. Restricting the girl's movement was going to be tricky. The last thing Regina needed was for her to break her neck in some ill-advised attempt to climb out of the window. Manacles and leg irons would raise questions, however. It had taken a while, but she'd finally come up with an acceptable solution. Fluttering her fingers over her prisoner's scalp, she watched approvingly as the girl's gleaming chestnut curls grew longer, and longer, extending over the edge of the bed and across the floor like creeping vines. "Good luck running with that mess stuck to your head," she taunted, though she knew the girl couldn't hear her.

She surveyed the room, which now looked like what it was supposed to be. The sanctuary of a lonely young woman. As a finishing touch, she conjured some planter boxes for the window. Tiny, leafy purple flowers were growing inside. She ran her fingers over the delicate blossoms with satisfaction. "Rapunzel."

* * *

><p><em>Rapunzel was five years old when she realized that she was different from everyone else. It was the books that had started her thinking about it. The first few times she'd read about people doing things outside, she'd assumed that outside was just another mythical land that people only went to in storybooks, like Neverland or Wonderland. But people went outside in every last book she had! That couldn't be a coincidence, could it? And then there were the people she saw from her window, the knights and soldiers and peasants milling around the courtyard below. Sometimes; in fact, most of the time, she saw the same people over and over. They weren't just venturing outside once, for some big adventure. They were doing it every day. Even Mommy left the tower every day. Rapunzel had never really thought about it, but that meant Mommy had to be going outside too. So why couldn't she?<em>

_By the time Mommy came for her daily visit, Rapunzel had worked herself into such a storm of curiosity that she couldn't even return her mother's hello. "Mommy, why can't I go outside?" she blurted instead._

_Mommy's face went blank, a look that had always been far more dangerous than frowns or tears. _"_What's brought this on? You've never asked before."_

_Mommy was trying to get her talking about something else so she'd forget about it. It wouldn't work. This was important. "You go outside," Rapunzel persisted. "Why can't I?"_

_Mommy sighed. "I suppose you were bound to ask someday. I was just hoping it wouldn't be this one." She sat down at the little table by the window, and Rapunzel climbed into the only other chair, the one across from her. "I've never told you who I am."_

_Rapunzel scrunched up her nose, more confused than ever. "Yeah you have. You're my mommy." A thought occurred to her. "Do you mean you're not? Did someone leave on your doorstep? Or did my real family put me on the water in a raft and then you found me and brought me home, like Princess Belle-Etoile?" She held up a colorful picture book with a drawing of four sleeping children on the cover._

_Mommy snorted. "That imagination of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days. No, dear, I'm your mother in every way, but I'm a number of other things as well. For one, I am a mage."_

_Why was she saying it like it was some kind of deep dark secret? Rapunzel had seen her use magic lots of times. It was magic that kept the tower's cupboards stocked with food and the basins full of water, got rid of the garbage, and kept the stove burning without any wood. "Isn't everybody?"_

_"__Of course not!" said Mommy indignantly. "Only the rarest of individuals has a natural talent for magic, and it's even rarer to find one with the discipline to properly develop that talent."_

_"__Then I'm not going to be a sorceress someday?" That would be weird. Rapunzel had always assumed that getting powers was a normal part of growing up, like getting taller or smarter._

_"__You?" Mommy laughed. "What an idea!" Her mother mussed her hair affectionately and amusedly, like she'd just watched her daughter dump a sack of flour over her own head or some such thing. "But I'm not just a sorceress. I'm also a queen."_

_Rapunzel's eyes were as blue and as wide as the china saucers on the table. "Like the Faerie Queen?" She pointed at the lavishly illustrated book laying open on her bedside table. "With a crown? And a big lacy train?" Rapunzel's eyes trailed over her mother's lavish black gown, the latest of many. That explained a lot._

_"__Yes, but don't put much stock in what your storybooks tell you. They were written by people without the slightest idea what true power costs. It's not all balls and handsome princes and parades." Mommy was glaring, but not at Rapunzel. As angry as she looked, though, her voice just sounded sad. Rapunzel scooted her chair closer and squeezed her mother's hand. Mommy glanced down at their tangled-up fingers and pressed on. "I'm a powerful woman, and power brings enemies."_

_"__Like who?" whispered Rapunzel. Who would ever want to be Mommy's enemy? She was the best!_

_"__A witch named Cora. A shapeshifter known as Maleficent. There are so many that I could sit here naming names all day," Mommy grumbled. "So just let me warn you about the one you should fear the most. He's known as the Dark One, but his real name is Rumplestiltskin."_

_"__That's a funny name." Little Rapunzel wondered if she could spell it, and made a mental note to try later._

_"__Don't let it fool you. There's nothing funny about its owner," Mommy said seriously. "He's a sick, twisted little demon who is famous for tearing families apart and taking children from their parents. He hates me, but he's too fearful of my power to declare open war against me or engage me in a fight. Don't you understand, Rapunzel? You're my daughter. He, and countless others, would hurt you in order to hurt me."_

_That did sound bad. Still…"But you could always rescue me, right? You could keep me safe."_

_Her mother smiled reassuringly. "Of course. That's why I created this tower. As long as you stay here, no one can hurt you. There's no way in or out, except by magic, and the wards," she nodded at the runes on the floor, "will keep away every magic user but the one who placed them. Me," Mommy concluded, a little smugly. "No one even knows you're here, or that you exist, and as long as you obey my rules, no one will."_

_Horror and relief warred inside the child. "S-so I can never go outside? _Ever?"

_"__Yes," said Mommy sadly, squeezing her hand. "That's the price of your safety. Your life." Rapunzel didn't know what to say to that. She'd always thought that life and safety were free, not something she had to pay a price for. Her mother forced a smile, trying to cheer them both up. "Come on, now, it's not so bad, is it? You've been here all your life, and you've been happy. Haven't you?"_

_Rapunzel nodded. Of course she had. It had never occurred to her that there was anything to be unhappy about until today._

_ "__I thought so. Good. That settles that then." Mommy nodded firmly, signaling that their talk was over. "Now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, I have a surprise for you."_

_"__A book?" asked Rapunzel hopefully._

_"__Don't you think you have enough of those already?" Mommy scolded. "No, dear, it's a new ribbon for your lovely hair. Just look how long it's growing…"_

* * *

><p><em>Rapunzel tripped, falling flat on her face and skidding across the worn blue rug in front of her bookcase. She'd been doing a lot of that lately. A pair of doves that had been scuttling around her windowsill hoping for a handout fluttered and squawked at the noise. "I'm okay!" she reassured them, her voice muffled against the plush rug.<em>

_Rolling onto her side, she glanced balefully at the bundle of chestnut curls currently tangled around her bare foot. Mother had always said that her hair grew more quickly than most people's, but during the past few months, its growth had become positively freakish. _

_Rapunzel was thirteen years old. Sudden, drastic changes in her body were something she was starting to grow accustomed to, but this seemed a bit much. She knew Mother had a lot on her mind; a kingdom to rule, dangerous enemies to keep at bay, and a child to protect. She'd been putting off asking her for help, not wanting to add to her worries, but Rapunzel's problem seemed to be getting worse before it got better. If she went on like this, she was liable to end up with a concussion. The girl rubbed her bruised forehead forlornly._

_"__I suppose I should have said something earlier," Mother admitted when Rapunzel brought it up that evening, "but it's not a subject I particularly enjoy, and part of me was hoping that if I didn't talk about it, it would go away."_

_"__That _what_ would go away?"_

_"__It all started when I was carrying you." Her mother sank into the overstuffed chair by the stove and motioned for Rapunzel to take the nearby stool, indicating that this was going to be a long story. "You were getting big enough that I couldn't keep you hidden under cleverly-cut gowns any longer. It would have been a great scandal. I wasn't married and never had been, and the father was a stable boy, of all things. There was nothing anyone could have done about it, of course; my word is law. But having a baby is difficult enough without being the subject of rumors and gossip, and I needed to see a friendly face, so I decided to go away to my father's estate until you were born." Her voice broke._

_Rapunzel didn't see what all of this had to do with her hair, but it was costing Mother so much effort to get the words out that she knew there must be a point. "Did something happen there?"_

_Mother shook her head, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. "It happened on the journey. My carriage was ambushed on the road by another sorceress, one of my enemies. She came straight through the wall and promptly started hitting me with spell after spell, without even explaining what she wanted first."_

_"__How awful!" Mother must have been so scared! Rapunzel knew she would have been._

_Mother nodded. "I won in the end, of course, but I wasn't able to shield us from those first few spells. She caught me so off-guard, I wasn't even sure what kind of spells they were. One of them nearly blasted me through the floor. It was a wonder I didn't lose you."_

_Rapunzel smiled proudly. "I'm strong."_

_Mother laughed. "Well, whatever the reason, when you were born alive and more or less normal, I assumed that all my worries had been for nothing. That her magic hadn't damaged you. But it seems there were some side effects that neither of us was aware of until now." She stroked a lock of her daughter's overgrown hair regretfully. "I wish I'd done a better job of protecting you then, but I promise, I've learned my lesson. I'm going to make absolutely sure that no one ever harms you again."_

_This time, it was Rapunzel's turn to laugh. "Mother, you don't need to agonize over it! It's just hair. It's not as if I'm going to die or anything. I'll just have to start cutting it more often."_

_And she did, but it had little effect. It seemed that the more she cut it, the faster it would grow. She could shave herself bald before bed and wake up with curls down to her ankles. After a few months, Rapunzel finally gave up and decided that her hair was simply a part of her that she'd have to learn to accept. _

* * *

><p><em>Rapunzel had been in her usual position next to the window, a book in one hand, a handful of birdseed to lure visitors in the other, when it all started. A damp, icy breeze had washed over her, and she'd looked out the window to see if it looked like rain. That was when she had heard the bells sounding the alarm. It had taken her a moment to recognize them; it was the first alarm she'd ever heard in all her eighteen years next to the palace. It wasn't until the palace guards joined in, blowing their whistles, that she realized what she was hearing.<em>

_Cold horror swept over her. Had something happened to Mother? Mother, with all her magic and power and unshakable confidence, had always seemed so strong. But no one was infallible, not even her. The overgrown mess on Rapunzel's head was proof enough of that. Rapunzel searched the courtyard below for some clue as to what was going on. As if in answer to her questions, a figure clad in white emerged from what had always appeared to be a solid stone wall on the east side of the palace. It was awfully tiny to have caused all of this ruckus, and was that a dress it was wearing? Her curiosity firmly conquering her fear, Rapunzel strained her eyes, trying to get a better look._

_Staying close to the wall, the figure inched its way closer to the gate. Yes, she was definitely up to something. Rapunzel's fear and her curiosity both screamed at her to stop the intruder, but searching her mind for something she could do to help proved fruitless. She couldn't leave her chamber, she had nothing that would pass for a weapon, and even if she had, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to deliberately hurt anybody. She couldn't even point or yell to alert the guards, because the enchantments on the tower prevented people on the ground from seeing her._

_The tiny figure darted through the courtyard, taking cover in a small cluster of apple trees near the center. A pair guards ran right past her. As soon as they were out of sight, the figure was on the move again, making a beeline for the front gate, clubbing the gate guard over the head, and slipping between the bars with ease._

_A split second too late, a second female figure that could only belong to Mother materialized out of thin air, among the apple trees. She yelled something, Rapunzel couldn't tell what at this distance, and pointed in the direction the mystery woman had fled. A handful of guards obediently scrambled out the front gate, the late afternoon sun gleaming off their weapons._

_Mother had seemed unharmed. But somehow it just wasn't enough to calm Rapunzel's racing mind. She had been worried for her mother's safety, yes, yet that was just a small part of it. She was also confused, and frustrated at being unable to help. _

_The strangeness of the day continued late into the night. These days, Mother's visits always came around sunset. Sometimes, if she didn't have any pressing business, she would stay for dinner. So when Mother didn't show up until nearly midnight, Rapunzel knew that the incident had been a serious one. _

_Rapunzel's curiosity was running amok, and she knew that sleep would be a lost cause, so she was sitting by the stove trying to take her mind off the strange incident down with another reread of Princess Belle-Etoile, when Mother finally appeared in the center of the room. "You're still awake," Mother noted without preamble, taking in her puffy, bloodshot eyes. "I suppose that answers the question of whether you saw what happened today."_

_"__Well, sort of." The questions that had been rattling around Rapunzel's mind all evening came tumbling out of her mouth in rapid succession. "I saw that girl, but what was she doing here? Who is she? What did she do that was so bad you had to raise the alarm? Did she try to hurt you?" Mother didn't seem inclined to sit down, so Rapunzel stood instead. "Did she succeed?" She gave her mother a quick once-over, but found no obvious injuries._

_"__Slow down, dear!" Mother patted her cheek. "One question at a time. She did try to hurt me, but of course she didn't succeed." Mother chuckled briefly, as though the very notion was ridiculous. "The girl's name is Snow White. She comes from a family that has been trying to steal my family's throne since my mother's day. I thought we had put an end to them years ago, but apparently we missed one. The girl snuck into my chamber through a secret passage I was unaware of while I was napping and tried to put an arrow through my heart. Fortunately she made some noise on her way in and I woke up just in time to deflect her shot."_

_"__Why would she want to do that? Does she really think anybody would be willing to give the crown to an assassin?"_

_Mother shrugged, looking bored. "Who can say what was going on in the little chit's head? But while this little attack of hers may have been laughable, I fear there will be others, far worse, to come. During the past few months, I have been receiving scattered reports of small-scale riots and other disturbances on the outskirts of the kingdom, incited by a woman matching her description. This isn't a single desperate attack I'm dealing with. It's going to be an all-out war."_

_For Mother to be worried, the situation must be dire indeed. "How can I help?" was the first thought that came to Rapunzel's mind and lips._

_"__The best way you can help me is to keep yourself safe," Mother commanded sternly, waving at the thick walls surrounding them. "The world out there is more dangerous than ever, for anyone close to me, and especially anyone as young and fragile as you."_

_"__I'm not fragile!" Rapunzel objected. "And I'm not all that young anymore, either! I'll bet there's a lot I could do to help if you'd let me!"_

_Mother's only response was a slight flick of one wrist. Heavy chains appeared out of nowhere, wrapping themselves around Rapunzel's torso, pinning her arms to her sides, and tangling painfully in her long hair. The sheer weight of them knocked Rapunzel off balance, and she toppled over like a bowling pin. She tried to cry out in protest, but found her voice had been stolen from her, her lips moving soundlessly. Left with no other options, she struggled pointlessly against her bonds._

_Mother came to kneel over her prone body, her eyes filled with pity. "Given a few hours and a lot of luck, you might be able to work your way free. But what if you'd been hit with something lethal? A killing curse, or even an arrow. You'd be dead. I wouldn't be able to rescue you, and there would certainly be no saving yourself." Mother's voice grew strained. "You remember what I told you about your father, don't you? A witch tore his heart out of his chest with her bare fist, crushed it to dust before our eyes before he even hit the ground! What are you going to do when that happens to you, hm? Kick your attacker with those soft, bare feet of yours? Bite him? Hit him with a frying pan?" Her point made, she snapped her fingers and the chains vanished._

_There were a lot of things Rapunzel could have said in response, if she'd had any breath in her lungs to say them with. As it was, all she could do was lay on her back, gasping in gulp after gulp of precious air. Mother softened, putting a hand between her shoulder blades, over the heavy curtain of her hair, and helping her into a sitting position. "I'm sorry, Rapunzel, but I had to make you understand. We live in a cruel, dangerous world. It would swallow a sweet little thing like you whole."_

_Was that just a hint of a quaver in her voice? Rapunzel was trying to be angry, but couldn't quite manage it. Mother had nearly been killed today. Was it any wonder she was upset, and terrified that her daughter would be next? This was not the right time to be having this conversation. Rapunzel remembered the chains digging into her ribs, cutting off her air, and a little shiver that had nothing to do with the cold stone floor went through her. Maybe there would never be a right time to have this conversation. Maybe Mother had a point. "I didn't mean to worry you, Mother. I just don't like feeling helpless."_

_Mother took that a bit differently than Rapunzel had meant it. "There's no need to worry. This is your home, and you'll always be safe here."_

_"__I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about you."_

_ "__I can handle myself." Mother sounded insulted by the very idea that she might need anyone's help. "Now get some sleep. Things are going to be getting busier for me, with that little usurper on the loose, and I won't be able to visit you as often. It will probably be at least a week, maybe two or three, before we see each other again."_

_"__So long?" Rapunzel was used to seeing her mother most every night, and had never gone more than a few days without a visit. The girl sighed. Well, she'd asked what she could do to help, and complaining about her loneliness probably wouldn't. She forced a smile. "I'll get by on my own for a while. Just don't forget about me."_

* * *

><p>Belle had shut her eyes, but it was Rapunzel who opened them. "Mother?" she mumbled groggily, sitting up in bed.<p>

"As you say," said her mother, perching on the end of her bed.

Rapunzel tried to stand, but her head ached, and her whole body felt bruised. "What happened to me?"

"I found you sprawled on the floor when I came in. Another accident with your hair, no doubt," said Mother flippantly.

"Oh." Rapunzel gave the matter no further thought. Accidents with her hair were about as common as bricks in this tower. "What are you doing here? You just visited last week. I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." Rapunzel was always happy to receive a visit from her mother, but two this close together had been unheard of since the start of Mother's campaign against Snow White. "Did something happen? Is it good news or bad?"

"Neither," said Mother innocently, "simply a warning. I've had an…altercation of sorts with the Dark One. Do you remember him?"

Rapunzel nodded. "Yeah, you've told me about him. The one with the funny name. Spindleshanks, was it?"

"That's the one. Let's just say our last meeting ended badly for him. He may move against me, and I wanted to put you on your guard. Now, more than ever, it's very important that you don't attempt to leave this tower."

Hadn't they already had this conversation when she was five? "Why would I do that?"

Mother smiled proudly. "No reason at all."


	3. Chapter Two

Rapunzel opened her bright blue eyes and sat up in bed. A grin crept across her face as a bluebird flew through the window, and she held out a finger for it to perch on. Her smile widened as it chirped and fluttered on her hand, and she sat it down on the bed beside her.

"You're a pretty bird, aren't you?" she said serenely, stroking its little blue head and smiling as it cooed. "I've never seen one like you before—they've all been gray or brown or red. But not you. You're special." She moved her hand away. "Mother tells me that things that are different are often dangerous, but I think that differences can sometimes make things beautiful."

Rapunzel reached under her bed and pulled out a dusty, worn-out book. She flipped through pages of paintings and sketches of various plants and animals until she found a blank one. She reached under her bed again and pulled out a quill and inkwell. She dabbed the quill into the ink and attempted to draw the bird, constantly looking from her subject to the paper. When she was done, she looked up at the bird for its approval, but it was gone, and had left a trail of wispy down in its wake.

Rapunzel sighed and closed the book, making a mental note to use her thinnest paintbrush when coloring the drawing in with blue. She moved to the edge of her room, to her window, where the tower looked out to a castle and everything beyond it. She had always loved sitting by the window and watching the birds and the wind fly through arrays of blue, pink, purple, white, and green; the colors that she had seen most often. Except for Mother, of course. She quite liked wearing black, not to say that it didn't look good on her.

Suddenly the bluebird came into view, and flew up to her face, as if to beckon her to follow it. Rapunzel's eyes widened with horror, remembering the day her mother had almost been killed, remembering the chains squeezing her, choking her nearly to death. Mother said that her demonstration was nothing compared to what could happen to her in the outside world, so how could she leave?

"Little friend, how long are you going to stay up there?" whispered a soft, female voice.

Rapunzel knew she should've been scared. She was hearing the words of a stranger, a stranger who could climb up the tower and do something horrible to her, but she just couldn't make herself be afraid. The woman sounded so sweet and innocent, and she'd always felt she had a sort of sense about people that allowed her to tell whether they had good intentions or not. She moved to the window again and poked her head out, curious to see what the person speaking looked like.

She was a beautiful woman. She had raven-black hair that flowed down her shoulders, gray-green eyes, pale skin, and a warm smile. She looked kind of like Mother, Rapunzel thought, but quickly dismissed the notion. She had never seen anyone other than her reflection and her mother, so who was she to judge?

"Oh my God, there's a girl up there!" the woman exclaimed suddenly, interrupting Rapunzel's train of thought. "Regina hasn't used this place in years, why is there somebody up there?" she muttered, more to herself than Rapunzel, it seemed.

"H-hello!" Rapunzel stammered, looking down from the tower. Her stomach lurched violently. She had been discovered, and spoken to a stranger!

"Hi!" the woman called to her, waving with her free hand. "I'm Mary, what's your name?"

"R-Rapunzel!" she yelled back, her mind in a whirl. She wished she could believe that this was a bad dream she would wake up from, or that Mother was here to protect her. All she could do was answer the interloper's questions, be polite, and hope for the best. But it was all happening so fast. She didn't know what to do if this confrontation started to go bad. She certainly didn't know how to protect herself.

"Interesting name," Mary replied. "Say, could I come up there and meet you in person?"

"S-sure!" said Rapunzel, her mouth betraying her better judgment.

Mary took two arrows out of a quiver on her back and started using them to climb up the side of the tower, digging them into the gaps between the bricks. There were no guards to be found down in the courtyard. A glance at her clock revealed that it was time for them to change shifts. She was on her own, and it was both terrifying and exhilarating. Rapunzel drew all the way to the back of her room, as far from the window as she could get, and waited for her guest to come up, fingering a frying pan.

"Do you live here?" Mary asked, hauling herself through the window and into Rapunzel's bedroom with an unladylike grunt.

"Of course I do! What on earth do you think this place is for?" Rapunzel asked indignantly, feeling a little annoyed by Mary's inability to recognize her mother's architectural skill. She didn't appreciate the other girl's incredulous tone. She wasn't sure whether it was meant that way or not, but it sounded like she was insulting Rapunzel's home.

Mary stared at her for a minute, then quickly shook her head. "Sorry, must've been thinking of a different place..."

Rapunzel crossed her arms defensively. "What is it that you want?"

"The Queen...she wants me dead, and...I need a place to hide," Mary confided, sitting down on the bed.

Rapunzel tilted her head. "Who?"

Mary looked shocked. "Who? Regina the Evil Queen? Ruler of Aridia?"

"Is...is Aridia the land, out there?" Rapunzel asked, trying not to let her confusion show.

Mary raised her eyebrows. "How long have you been up here, kid?"

Rapunzel blinked. "Since the day I was born, of course."

Mary just shook her head again, looking more tired than confused. "Whatever, can you help me?"

Rapunzel bit her lip. The woman seemed nice enough, and even if she wasn't, she couldn't just send her away to be executed. Nobody deserved that. She couldn't let Mother know about her either, though. For both of their sakes.

"I'll help, but you have to stay out of sight when my mother comes. Deal?" She asked, walking over to Mary.

Mary grinned, then took her hand and shook it. "Deal!"


End file.
